I’m giving theCHIVE back to the real Chivettes

Many of you have already noticed some of the changes that have happened here over the last few weeks, but I wanted to address some of the most positive changes personally. theCHIVE continues to surge as the last happy outpost on the internet, and I don’t want to leave anybody feeling uninformed or left out.

2Some cool history: I did not create the Chivettes. I didn’t even name them. In 2008, Rick and I were living on the Venice Canals when I had an idea to steal some photos of some of my friend’s hot girlfriends on Facebook then pretend they had submitted their photos to theCHIVE. We were broke and had nothing to lose, really. I would do this a few weeks in a row in a post I called, “There are Sexy Chivers Among Us.” Whether or not there were any sexy Chivers among us remained to be seen.After the 3rd week, I copped to what I had done and asked if there really were any Sexy Chivers out there? I went out to lunch and came back to over a hundred emails. In the comment section of the 4th Sexy Chivers, somebody called the girls Chivettes. The name stuck.

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Our Chivettes are not tradition models. They’re approachable. They’re the girls next door. Most importantly, they are a part of this community. They comment and enjoy every one in ten of TV Paul’s comments just like the rest of us.

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The idea of “the Chivette” would explode with the first Chivette of the Week: Shay Maria. We wanted to keep with the “real” theme. When Shay arrived at theCHIVE HQ in Venice, I told her I wanted to use natural light and no photoshop in editing. I wanted it to be real.Shay didn’t flinch. “John, have you seen my tits?,” she asked me. “They don’t need an airbrush.” Love that girl.

5Shay’s shoot would set the trend for things to come and the evolution of the Chivette shoots. Shay was a goofy girl and wanted the shoot to be as funny as it was sexy. “Sexy is easy, funny is hard,” she said. Shay was right, eventually the Chivette shoots were as funny as they were sexy.Although Chivettes like Jade Roper have now gone on to fame and fortune, once upon a time they were just fans of the site, cool girls we knew in Venice Beach who hung out at the office and cared about what we stood for. Chivettes became part of our culture.

Being funny is an equal part of every Chivette shoot we do and lends itself to the overall authenticity of the Chivettes and the galleries we create around them. Gotta’ get me a goofy girl is a wonderful example of what it means to be a Chivette. You don’t have to be a model, you just have to have fun, and we could all use a little more of that.

7It’s a Chivette who might be funniest member of our community, after all. I can think of no better Chivette than Giraffe Girl. She’s wickedly funny, honest, and vanquished Dave Welch from his iCHIVE throne. The King is dead; long live the Queen.

8Times change and we evolved. The rise of Instagram famous models has changed the landscape of the internet and the dynamic of the website a little bit. Some of that has been really good, some not so good. Insta-famous models have an increasingly larger share of voice on theCHIVE. And given the availability of those photos, it’s hard not to pull from that pool, ya’ know? How am I not going to post Sara Underwood in suspenders, topless on top of a mountain? That said, it was getting to be a little much.The issue is that some of the Chivettes felt left out. I tend to agree with that sentiment and want to get back to our real Chivettes a lot more.

That said, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the huge grey area that exists between Instagram and theCHIVE. It goes something like this:

9Take Ellie-Jean Coffey for example. The Australian pro surfer might be the very definition of “Instagram famous,” with almost 700,000 followers. But she’s also a Chivette and has been for a long time. She sexy, funny, and active in the community and Chive Charities. Does Ellie deserve to be on theCHIVE? Hell yes she does.There’s a balance to find, and I’m seeking it out now. It’s a social media world and you must evolve.(Ellie’s Instagram)

10We plan on working with Instagram, not against it. So today we’re finally making our Chivette Official on Instagram public! It will be a place for the real Chivettes in our community to express themselves. You’ll see the page isn’t anything like the others out there, it encompasses a wide range of Chivettes, from goofy girls to fitness success stories, as well as all the behind-the-scenes action at theCHIVE HQ.Join the Chivette revolution right here!

11Ultimately if you want more real Chivettes on the website, our Chivettes actually have to submit their photos more often. They don’t appear by magic, folks!There are many ways to do this:

The first is obviously iCHIVE. iCHIVE has had its growing pains for sure but it’s growing steadily and the platform continues to evolve. As a pure submission engine, it’s a fantastic tool. The next is good, old-fashioned email. Email your photos to submit@thechive.com

And now you can simply tag your Instagram photos #chivetteofficial. We always post with attribution on Instagram and theCHIVE whenever we can.

12Now I have a favor to ask. Some Chivettes (not all) do complain a bit too much when they are not posted. Ben or Travis get a healthy daily dose of “WTF wasn’t I in the DAR today?” It happens more than you think and as much as I think it’s hilarious to see Ben frustrated, it’s not quite fair. He’s trying his best and, trust me, he’s already the most pranked kid at the office (as evidenced by this photo).So keep calm and we’ll keep getting better, deal?

13And let’s be honest with ourselves here: Sometimes it’s nice to have Chivettes in our community just be downright sexy. Thank you, on behalf of males everywhere.theCHIVE might be the last truly happy place on the internet. It’s blissfully absent of any politics or snark, but not without its flaws. I will always love it for its flaws too. But that doesn’t mean I can’t do my part to make adjustments when needed.

If you felt left out, I’m sorry. Welcome back. To all you new Chivettes out there, just be as you are, you’re celebrated here.

Enjoy the new Chivette Instagram and thanks to all our Chivettes out there for your input, we’re always listening.

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Phol Jansinger

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